NEVADA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
Rare Plant Committee Meeting
NEVADA RARE PLANT WORKSHOP
Tuesday, 3 April 2007, Las Vegas

2007 MEMBER COMMENTS
http://heritage.nv.gov/nrpw/commnt07.htm

The following comments on 2007 agenda items were offered by participants and/or non-participants prior to the 2007 Workshop, and were made available at the workshop as a handout to participants. Those unable to attend but with thoughts or information to contribute are especially encouraged to submit them!

Member: Arnold Tiehm
Date: 7 April 2006
Comments: Turns out there was an isotype of Cryptantha mirabunda in the general collection at RENO. I looked at all of the RENO specimens of C. utahensis. They were from Nye, Lincoln, Mineral, Clark, and Esmeralda Cos. in Nevada and from Inyo, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Cos., in California, as well as Mohave Co. Arizona and Washington Co., Utah. I do not see how a Nevada endemic can be carved out of C. utahensis. There is variability as to flower size but all have nice yellow fornices. The nutlets are quite uniform except for being one or two. The nutlets have knife like edges and they remind me a lot of C. watsonii except they have turbercules where watsonii is smooth. The calyx on C. utahensis is also consistently appressed with no long hispid hairs like C. pterocarya. I found one C. pterocarya in C. utahensis and one mixed collection of the two. Also Johnston's monograph came out in 1925 and C. mirabunda was described in 1927. Johnston does not list the Heller collection, isotype, in his list of specimens seen.

Member: Don Farrar
Date: 24 March 2006
Comments: The only new thing we have done with the Nevada [Botrychium] plants has been to compare the "lunaria" plants there to other species in their genetic constitution. These comparisons, done in PopGene analysis, yields Genetic Identity relationships, i.e., how close they are to other species. In these comparisons, the Nevada "lunaria" comes out closest to Botrychium tunux in Alaska. I also found similar plants in Glacier National Park last summer. Quite possibly we will call both the Nevada and Glacier NP plants B. tunux. That will be a new species for Nevada and all of the lower 48 except Montana. This will constitute a remarkable range disjunction. I would be very interested in hearing of any other similar range disjunctions involving Alaska and/or Glacier NP and the Spring Mountains.

Relative to Botrychium lineare in the Spring Mountains we have also further knowledge of the genotypic range of the species from new discoveries made last year in Colorado and California. This new information may help in interpreting the peculiar genotypes of B. lineare-like plants in the Spring Mountains.

Member: Arnold Tiehm
Date: 4 March 2005
Comments: I have seen both collections of Cryptantha insolita and it sure looks like a good taxon to me. The type was collected by Goodding in 1905 and the label is just "Las Vegas". The 1942 collection was by Ripley and Barneby and again just says "Las Vegas". I once asked Rupert about the location. He told me that Las Vegas was just a wide spot in the road in 1942. They stayed at the Sal Sagev (anagram of Las Vegas) Motel and out behind the motel were springs. The Cryptantha was on the deposits from the springs. They also got Calochortus striatus at the same site. I would imagine that a little detective work could turn up a location for the old motel and then a search of the immediate area would tell if the plant is in existence.

Member: Dana York
Date: 17 March 2004
Comments (in part): Sisyrinchium funereum--I question that this species occurs at Ash Meadows. There are no other rare plant correlations between Ash Meadows and Death Valley. This plant only occurs in the springs surrounding the (Death) valley. The populations vary in size (some >100 plants) and seem to be stable, but threats include exotic plants, water extraction, cattle, and burros.

Member: Jason Alexander
Date: 27 April 2003
Comments: With a taxon as complicated as Astragalus lentiginosus, we do not yet know if these small [Nevada var. stramineus] populations with unique morphology are significantly differentiated from the rest of the complex or are they fully intergradient with neighboring varieties. Untested hypotheses abound (including, so far, mine) but no concrete data has ever been researched. It is important to protect the diversity in this variety in either scenario in a population biology context.

If var. stramineus is a full hybrid, or the Nevada populations are hybrids with var. fremontii, these hybrids swarms are an important conduit for genetic diversity of typical var. stramineus. It is likely that var. stramineus will become genetically depauperate and potentially go extinct if this conduit for genetic diversity is severed. In this case, a conservation plan would encompass populations from Toquop Wash (which are distinguishable from typical stramineus only in having slightly smaller flowers) east to the Beaver Dam Wash. These putative hybrids should be considered var. stramineus until genetic data show otherwise.

If var. stramineus is distinct from other varieties of this complex, the population in Toquop Wash is likely the main source for dispersal in Nevada, having the largest and most widespread extant populations. The others around Mesquite are heavily impacted. In addition, the populations around Beaver Dam are also heavily impacted by past and current development. The remote sandy pockets in washes between Toquop Wash and Beaver Dam Wash are important small populations that promote gene flow and the maintenance of diversity in this species. If this hypothesis is correct, loosing these small populations could cause a loss of genetic diversity and the possible extinction of this variety. In any case, var. stramineus is a taxon in need of some mitigation from habitat loss.

Member: Anita Cholewa
Date: 18 March 2003
Comments: For starters, this genus is not an easy one to separate and is fraught with danger for inexperienced botanists. Here's some additional information that might be of help. In the area where these plants occur (southern NV, UT) there aren't too many other species. In fact, Sisyrinchium demissum is the only other one that overlaps in range. (S. bellum is further west and S. halophilum is further northwest -- we've searched extensively and never found these closer). Sisyrinchium demissum, S. funereum, and S. radicatum are all branched species but can be distinguished on the basis of additional bract and floral characters (see table below). The characters are subtle but real. I have done a fair amount of crossing among these [species] and barriers exist. I don't have flowering dates but generally these are all spring to early summer for the particular region.

The Sisyrinchium funereum populations are mostly within Death Valley and thus protected (Furnace Creek near Inn, Sand Springs at north end of Death Valley and the Ash Meadows border area both within -Devils Hole- and outside Death Valley -McGill Ranch and Jackrabbit Springs [maybe this is inside I don't remember]). Populations contain lots of individuals.

The Sisyrinchium radicatum populations are a bit more dispersed, in Clark, Nye, and Lincoln cos. with some also in Washington Co. in UT. Clark: Charleston Mts - Pine Canyon, Charleston Mts - Ash Spring, Spring Mts - Pine Creek, Red Rock Canyon - Calico Basin. Nye: Big Springs (aka Deep Springs) in Ash Meadows, Pahrump Valley. Lincoln: Pahranagat Lakes, Pahranagat Valley - Ash Springs. I can't assess the threats to these populations.

I would be happy to look at your materials [in Nevada herbaria] but I cannot promise a speedy return if more than just a few specimens.

(last updated 31 July 2007) 

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